Deere & Co. swings to profit in first quarter

AllenWan

Deere & Company
DE, -0.40%
swung to profit in the fiscal first quarter, reporting a net income of $68 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $38.1 million, or 16 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected the farm-equipment maker to earn 15 cents per share in the quarter, on average, according to estimates provided by Thomson First Call. Revenues for the first quarter edged up to $2.79 billion from the $2.52 billion for the same period last year. Deere forecast net equipment sales for the second quarter to be up 10 percent to 15 percent from a year ago, with companywide net income between $200 million and $250 million. For 2003, it expects equipment sales to be up 7 percent to 9 percent and full-year net income to be in the range of $500 million to $600 million. Shares ended at $40.50 on Monday.

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